L. Grandmoulin (1873-1957), King Albert, Bronze Sculpture, Belgian School, 1916.

Léandre Grandmoulin (1873-1957), King Albert I of Belgium, patinated bronze, dated and signed, 1916.

Léandre Grandmoulin (La Hulpe, November 12, 1873 – Uccle, March 10, 1957) was a Belgian sculptor trained at the Brussels Academy during his military service. From 1892 to 1899, he studied under Charles Van der Stappen. In 1896, he shared second prize for sculpture from life with George Minne and, in 1898, won first prize for sculptural composition, along with a scholarship. After his years at the Academy, he worked as a studio assistant in the workshops of Victor Rousseau, Egide Rombaux, and Constantin Meunier. He participated in the 1897 Brussels World's Fair with a plaster Phaeton and exhibited works at the "Labeur" circle, including the design for the De Bruyne Monument, The Fall, several busts of peasant women, Across the Way (1899), Doubt, The Sower (bronze), The Weeder, and The Haymaker (1900). Like Meunier, he drew his inspiration from the working class and social conditions, which sometimes earned him criticism highlighting a stylistic similarity to his mentor. In 1900, Grandmoulin won the second Prix de Rome with Adam and Eve Weeping over the Body of Their Son Abel. In the following years, he created and exhibited numerous works, including The Prayer (1902), Mother and Child (1903), Silent Meditation (marble, Ixelles Museum), Stonecutter (1905), Initiation (1907), The Singer, The Violinist, The Sculptor, La Senora de Londot, and The Benedictine (1916). He participated in various Salons and Triennial Exhibitions in Brussels, Antwerp, and Liège, as well as the Brussels World's Fair in 1910, where he received a silver medal for the project Crouching Woman. During and after the First World War, he maintained a sustained output, including portraits, allegorical works such as Peace, and monumental commissions, including the War Memorial of 1914–1918 (1925), in the Square des Héros in Uccle. During the interwar period, he continued to exhibit, notably at the 12th Venice Biennale (1920). He created busts such as Auguste Danse (1920) and Rustique (1921), as well as works like Victoire, Enfant au bouquet, Sainte Marguerite de Louvain (1926), Passion maternelle (1927), Clémence (1928), Cérès, L'Infirmière (1930), and La postérité (1932). He also executed reliefs for the Heysel Stadium (Le Chanteur, 1933) and busts for the Cinquantenaire Park in Brussels. In 1941, he became a member of the Royal Academy of Belgium. Retrospectives of his work were held in 1943 at the Galerie de l'Art Belge and in 1959 at the Uccle Cultural Centre. In 1948, he donated several works to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA).

Bibliographical reference: Engelen-Marx, Sculpture in Belgium from 1830 onwards. Volume III: Devreese – Hecq. Leuven: Van der Poorten Printing House, August 2006, pp. 1218–1219.